Golden dreams and winter fun
by KuraiYuki-chan
Summary: Some JackXSandy romance. Why? Because Sandy doesn't get enough love and because I can. LOL. Yaoi, JackXSandy. Don't like, then don't read.
1. first night as a guardian

_**Hope you guys like it. I just love Sandy and felt he didn't really get enough love. Seriously, there is not enough!**_

The cold rush of fresh air hit him, rustling his unruly white hair and blowing snowflakes in his face. It was snowing lightly, big fat snowflakes dropping down onto every surface calmly. Muffled sounds of the party reaching through the balcony doors. It was nice, being with everyone without getting thrown out of the pole by angry yeti. But as the night progressed, it just started to seem a bit too much. After they'd returned to the pole, North had insisted on throwing a huge party in celebration for the yeti, fairies, and the guardians of course. It was fun, _but he just needed some air!_ All the noise and people, well yeti, and Tooth's fairies constantly looking at his teeth was starting to become stifling.

He hopped up onto the railing, trailing frost patterns absently as he went. _I still need to talk to Sandy._ He thought guiltily. _If only to apologize._ He sighed. He hadn't seen the dream guardian in some time and was just beginning to think that maybe the little man had left the party when a gleam of gold against the dark rooftop of another portion of the Workshop caught his eye. It was just a small shine of familiar gold against the dark sky right where the roof peaked so that its source was out of sight.

Leaping off the balcony, he flew silently toward the golden glow. Sure enough, just on the opposite side of the roof was the sandman, fast asleep, curled up in a ball and dozing, each breath sending up spirals of snowflakes around his face. There was a small layer of snow building up on the little man's side and sticking in his hair. Lazy curls of dreamsand rolled down the slope of the roof passed a large window casting its warm light below them as though it was the tail of a contented cat and Jack couldn't help but smile at the dream playing itself out above the golden man's head, a dream of snowflakes and a snowball fight involving all of the guardians teaming up against Bunny. The wind blew softly again, throwing Sandy's spiked hair into his face, making him brush it away in his sleep. It was . . . cute. To say the least, he couldn't help the frosted blush that spread across his cheeks at the thought.

 _You must have been out here a long time._ He mused with a frown, eyeing the snow piling up on top of him. _Probably cold,_ he realized. Cold like this wouldn't kill an immortal but it couldn't be comfortable. Why didn't he just sleep in one of the guest rooms if he was so tired? _I can't just leave him out here. But if he's so tired then I don't want to wake him either._ He sighed, rolling the little man over to pick him up and froze. There, nearly invisible in the dark were small frozen tear tracks trailing down plump cheeks. He touched one carefully, just to be sure it really was there and not just some trick of the light. It was. Cold, smooth trails crept from his eyes to his chin.

Sandy was . . . crying? _Why?_ Guilt creeping into his heart. While everyone was inside partying and having fun, Sandy was out here crying. He scooped him up gently so that his right arm rested under his shoulders with his head resting against his chest while his left held his legs and his staff. Despite appearances, the little man was feather light and Jack was easily able to carry him to a window on the eighth floor, where North had told him the guest quarters were located. He pushed the window with one foot and was relieved to find it open. He stepped inside, pushing the window shut behind him. A small warm hand fisted itself in his hoodie and he couldn't help a small smile.

Glancing around, he saw he was in a dark hallway, whose only light was from the staircase at the other end. He walked to the first door on his right. There was a small sign on it that read; BUNNY. The next was Tooth's. The other two doors were closets so he doubled back, heading down a second hallway. If Bunny and Tooth had rooms here then he was sure Sandy did too. The second hallway was larger, there were five rooms, the first four were unmarked but the very last had a small sign in golden print that read; SANDY. He half expected it to be locked or something but it wasn't. He pushed the door open, squinting in the darkness until Sandy's dreamsand caught up with them, drifting lazily to the floor to rest there in intricate spirals, providing enough light to cast a dim golden hue on the room. He stared at the dreamsand settled there for a few moments. _It was beautiful._ Delicate looking, but he knew it could make a powerful weapon if its owner wished. _Like nightshade._ He thought. _Beautiful, yet deadly._ That in mind, he was careful to avoid stepping on the dreamsand patterns as he entered the room.

Sandy's room was large, with windows on two full walls of the room, the side opposite the door and running along the closest side on the right. Instead of regular windows as there had been in the hallway, every window was a work of art. Beautiful stained glass depicting what appeared to be scenes from Sandy's past stood out in stark contrast to the almost red wood of the floor and support beams along the walls and ceiling. The walls themselves were a creamy golden color that gave the room a warm feel. To the left of the door, he could see a spacious bath with a shower and tub, all in shades of gold and a warm creamy yellow. In the main room was a king sized bed with golden sheets and a rounded headboard made of the same red wood that seemed too big for someone so small and next to it was a easel and all manner of art supplies along with several canvas paintings. Huh, so Sandy was an artist. He supposed that made sense. In the center of the room was a round woven gold rug that matched the bed and in the corner, where the two walls of stained glass met was a round dip in the floor large enough for a yeti to lay in and looked fairly deep but it was hard to tell since it was filled with pillows in all shades of gold and red. Across the top was thrown a red blanket. Overall, the room had a warm, yet regal feel. Like something of royalty.

Leaving the door open behind him, he carried Sandy over to the mess of pillows in the floor and gently laid him down, pulling the red blanket to wrap around him. He was bewildered for a few moments when he couldn't pull away, until he realized that a small hand was still clutching his hoodie like a lifeline. For someone fast asleep, he had a deceptively strong grip. As he tried to pry the little man's hand away he failed to notice that the dreamsand was moving again, he twisted slightly, just in time to catch a face full of dreamsand as it settled across Sandy and the pillows.

 _Crap_. Now suddenly seemed like an unnaturally good time to take a nap. He slumped forward into the pillows next to Sandy. _He's warm…_ Was the last thought that swam through his foggy mind before he fell into a world of golden dreams and winter fun.


	2. Strange

The pole was relatively quiet now. The party had started to wind down some time ago. By now, most of the yeti were heading to bed and Tooth's fairies had all either fallen asleep or left for home. Even the elves were tired. Now the guardians were lounging in a relatively empty room with a large fireplace and ornate Christmas decorations near the guest rooms. Bunny was resting in a big red and white floral pattern armchair by the fire, his head nodding occasionally before snapping back up again and Tooth was stretched out on the matching couch beside North, slightly tipsy but not much. North stretched his arms above his head, shoulders popping.

"Well," He said tiredly, "Iz getting late. I think iz time for much rest, yes?"

"Can't argue with ya there, mate." Bunny answered, Pushing himself up from the chair. Tooth climbed to her feet as well, with Baby Tooth clinging to her shoulder.

"You are most velcome to stay night in pole if you like, my friends. Sandy and Jack too." He added, looking around for them without luck.

"They might 'ave already left, mate. I 'aven't seen Sandy in a couple a' hours." He hummed softly, turning to a yeti who was just coming down the short staircase that lead to the guest wing.

"Phil!" He called, motioning the yeti over. "Have you seen Jack? We must give new guardian own room! Iz only fair." He said with a jolly smile which faded to confusion at the yeti's grumbled words.

"Huh? What you mean has found room with Sandy?" The yeti just waved him away toward the guest rooms before heading off again with North staring after him in confusion.

"What's the matter, North?" Asked Tooth.

"Phil says zat Jack has found room with Sandy." He was met by two stares of confusion. He shook his head. "I don' know. Iz what Phil says." They started making their way to their rooms then, with North walking with them in case they needed anything.

"It's been a long time since I've spent the night 'ere." Muttered Bunny. "Too Christmasy, and cold."

"Yeah, I think the last time I stayed here was when I was trying to convince North to put toothbrushes in the stockings." Replied Tooth, shooting the man a glare.

"I make toyz, not dental things." Bunny paused as they passed the hall that lead to Sandy's room. The door was open and a dim light was emanating from inside. _That isn't right._ He crinkled his nose slightly. _If he recalled correctly, Sandy hated leaving doors open. He didn't like people prying into his business._

"Bunny! Vat iz problem? You frozen?" He glanced at the other guardian, they were already half way down the hall.

"Sandy's rooms open." He said simply, turning to go investigate with Tooth and North right behind him. As they stepped into Sandy's room, they were surprised to find it was quite beautiful. They'd never been in here before, not even North. Sandy never let anyone in. Dreamsand rested on the floor and lead like a trail to a mess of pillows opposite the door. There, curled into the pillows was Sandy and . . . Jack? He realized in surprise. The two were curled around each other tightly, limbs entwined with a blanket thrown over them and Sandy's face pressed against Jack's chest with Jack's chin resting on top of the dream giver's head gently, his arms wrapped around him to hold him close. Across the two was a light dusting of dreamsand and frost that made him feel cold just looking at it though he knew it wouldn't bother Sandy in the least. Space was much colder after all. It was a very . . . _intimate position_ to find the two in, to say the least. He lowered his head, closing his eyes to better take in his friend's scent.

"Bunny." Whispered North softly. "Did they . . . ?" He questioned, apparently both their thoughts took the same turn and Tooth looked down at the pair curiously.

"No," He answered, with a shake of his head that made his ears flop slightly with the motion. "They don't smell like sex." The three quickly retreated from the room when Jack stirred slightly, closing the door behind them with a quiet click.

"That was . . . strange." Tooth said at last. The other two guardians nodding in agreement.


	3. Scars of the past

He lay there feeling comfortable and content, floating in the soft bliss just between asleep and awake, slowly coming back to consciousness. That was the best sleep he'd had in ages! He was turned half on his side and half on his stomach, his body resting on top of a pillow that was comfortably cool in the warm room, the scent of cold fresh air wafting around him. He smiled, it was nice. After all the crying he'd done the night before on the roof, he'd expected a restless uneasy sleep but this was certainly a happy surprise. He pressed his nose further into the pillow beneath him, intending to sleep a few more hours. . . . . . Wait. A pillow? But he'd fallen asleep on the roof hadn't he? It was then that he really realized the warmth of the room. Had someone found him and brought him inside? The pillow moved slightly beneath him. Pillows don't move.

His eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was blue, but he knew from the familiar scent of incense that he was in his room at the pole, he keeps a lot of incense that he finds when he travels around the globe. If he likes the way it smells, he'll often take some back with him to either his island or the pole. This was his room but . . . I don't have anything blue. . . He pulled back from his 'pillow' slightly to get a better look.

Jack?

His eyes widened. There was Jack, laying curled around him in a peaceful slumber in the middle of his pile of pillows in his room. Dreamsand sparkled in his hair from the morning light casting the colors from his windows across the slim frame. His staff lay on the floor behind him. Jack must have found him on the rooftop after he fell asleep and brought him to bed . . . or tried to anyway. He thought guiltily, judging by how much sand was scattered through Jack's snowy hair he'd gotten a nice dose of dreamsand in the face for his trouble. Then another thought struck him, had Jack seen him crying? He hoped not. He didn't want anyone to see him cry. Crying made him feel small and weak. Like a baby he thought bitterly. It was bad enough that none of the guardians listened when he 'spoke', the last thing he needed was to be babied.

Jack shifted, rolling onto his back with a soft sigh leaving his parted blue lips. He looked so peaceful when he slept, rather than his usual bundle of mischievous energy. I'll let him sleep a bit longer. He thought, examining the dark circles under his eyes and wondering how long it had been since the winter sprite had gotten a decent night's sleep.

He rolled out of the pile of pillows, careful not to wake Jack. He glanced at the clock on the wall, 12:45. Pretty late. The others probably already had breakfast without them. Taking a last glance at Jack, he left the room to find a yeti. He didn't have to go far, just beyond the guest quarters were several yeti talking about . . . something. He wasn't sure, though he thought he heard the yetish word for 'bet' in there somewhere.

He floated up to them with a smile. A picture of a chef's hat dancing above his head as he rubbed his belly and licked his lips. A silly display really but they wouldn't understand otherwise. The first yeti just seemed confused but the second got it.

"Food?" He asked in their grumbled language. He nodded, smile broadening. "Kind?" He thought for a moment then materialized a plate of pancakes, some sausage, eggs and a glass of what he hoped they would recognise as orange juice before duplicating the image so that there were two. The yeti's brow furrowed, holding up two fingers. He nodded, a check mark appearing above his head with a wide grin then pointed to the guest quarters and showing a sand image of the door to his room with the little sign on it. He was sure they'd understand, even though he couldn't actually make the letters that spelled out his name. Dreams were abstract things after all and letters and numbers were not. The yeti grumbled a confirmation before heading off down a side hallway toward where the kitchens were. He waved a goodbye to the still present yeti before heading back to his room.

Jack was still asleep, curled up in the pillows right where he'd left him only now he was hugging a small pillow with his face pressed into another and a red blanket tangled about his feet. He hesitated only a moment before pulling the blanket over the boy, watching it frost over almost instantly with tiny fern like patterns. It was quite beautiful. He moved his easel silently, positioning it to where he could still see the patterns as he painted them across an empty canvas, his brush flowing easily over it once he found the right colors. He glanced back at Jack for another reference. He did make a good model. Normally he hated it when anyone was in his room but somehow with Jack he didn't really mind so much.

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He smiled, opening the door with a tendril of dreamsand and taking two trays offered to him, both of which he set on the bed with a silent 'thank you' passed to the yeti as she left. Jack groaned, rolling over. Apparently just the scent of food was enough to wake him. He lifted his head, groggy eyes squinting in the light from the windows. He looked around dazed for a few moments as though he didn't remember where he was before a look of realization crossed his features when his eyes locked on Sandy. Sandy gave him a nervous smile, he still wasn't sure if Jack had seen him crying last night. He dropped his head back back into a pillow with a thump, a muffled 'sorry' escaping him. 'Sorry?' For what? He tilted his head to the side, running a strand of dreamsand across his shoulders to rouse him.

"I'm up, I'm up." He grumbled, standing with a stretch as he noticed the trays of food. Sandy sat down toward the top of the bed, pulling his tray to him and picking up his fork. Jack stared at the second tray for a few moments as though he weren't sure if it was meant for him or not so Sandy made an arrow pointing to him and a second to the tray. The action seemed to satisfy Jack as he hesitated only a second before settling at the foot of the bed and digging into his own tray.

"So," He began, running a hand through messy hair nervously, "Sorry for . . . ah, passing out on you last night." He glanced up sheepishly.

Sandy smiled, waving away his concern before drawing up a tendril of dreamsand, going slow enough that he would understand, he mimicked a snowflake being hit by dreamsand before showing a bed and ending with a question mark.

"Uhm . . . Did the dreamsand put me to sleep?" He nodded. "Yeah."

Another question mark.

"I don't know what you're trying to say."

He manifested an image of a rooftop and a bed, then a question mark.

"Yeah. You fell asleep on the roof so I brought you back in. It's pretty cold out there, you know. You could have gotten a cold or something." He couldn't help but smile at that, it was nice to know that someone cared. Usually when he falls asleep somewhere no one bothers to move him and it would typically take a while before the other guardians realized he was gone. "Then again, I probably made it a little chilly in here too just by being here." He said guiltily. His eyes widened, waving a hand to get Jack's attention, he didn't want his friend feeling guilty over nothing.

He pointed above his head, showing his symbol for himself then an ice cube with an '/' over it, hoping Jack would understand. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"I am cold though. . . Winter spirit and all that." He didn't get it. He thought for a moment. How could he explain this to Jack?

He showed the same symbols then added a fire symbol with an '/' over it and an arrow pointing to himself then a moving star with contrails behind it that zipped around the room before returning to his palm and shifting into an arrow that pointed to himself.

"Uhm . . . Something about a shooting star and you? I didn't get the rest."

He flashed a check mark for the part he did get but how else could he explain the rest? He thought for a moment before showing a little light bulb going on above his head that made Jack chuckle. He leaned over to a small nightstand with an incense burner on it, pulling a cigarette lighter he used for lighting his incense out. He showed the lighter to Jack, clicking it so that a decent sized flame danced atop it. Then, closed one small hand over the open flame. Jack yelped, knocking the lighter out of his hand with the end of his staff to clatter across the floor.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU'LL HURT YOURSELF!" He merely smiled at Jack, showing him his completely undamaged hand, wiggling his fingers for emphasis. Jack gaped at him, dumbfounded. "B-but how did you not get burned!?" He repeated the same symbols again, only this time he showed his symbol for himself instead of a star swirling about the room on it's contrails. Then looked to Jack to see if he understood.

"Y-you're trying to say that you don't get hurt by heat or by cold because . . ." He thought for a moment, "you are a . . . shooting star?" He asked, looking like he expected to be laughed at. But Sandy smiled wide, showing a huge check mark with flashing lights.

"R-really? You're a shooting star?" He nodded with a smile. "But . . . I read somewhere that shooting stars are when we see things burning up in the atmosphere."

Sandy rolled his eyes. Showing a book with a picture of the earth on it in slightly darker sand while pulling pictures out of the book that looked like they must be symbols for the guardians, placing emphasis on his symbol of himself.

"Science books leave out things like the guardians?" He guessed. A check mark appeared above his head. "So then shooting stars come from the earth and not from space?"

He showed an image of the earth with an '/' over it, then showed a shooting star circling around the room.

"Shooting stars do come from space?" He nodded, showing a check mark. "But then that would mean that you're from space." He nodded again, another check mark. "Doesn't that make you an alien?" He shrugged but nodded. To me, you're all aliens and I'm the normal one. "Sooo," He said slowly, "If you're from space then how did you end up here?" He winced at the thought. It was far from being a happy memory. Jack seemed to notice his unease. "You don't have to tell me if you'd rather not…" But he shook his head, floating over to first glass window in the farthest corner, Jack followed, his eyes widening when he realized they weren't stained glass, they were painted.

"Did you paint these!?" He nodded with an almost sad smile, turning back to the window panes. They were incredibly detailed and had taken a long time to make. He never did tell North that he painted the windows in his room, he figured the man would just think he was making a mess. The others too. They looked down on him a bit, he thought. Not intentionally of course. But they never listened or paid any attention, probably because he couldn't talk anymore and a tendril of dreamsand doesn't catch a person's attention the same way a voice would. That and he was so much smaller than them, North was practically a giant, the same could be said of Aster. Although Tooth was much closer to being of equal size to him physically, she more than made up for her small size with her big voice. She was always talking, be it to her fairies or yeti or North and Aster while he couldn't make a sound.

He pointed out the first window to Jack, it was of Sandy, holding a golden staff with an "S" shape on it. Wrapped around him was a gold spiral that stretched into a long tail that reached over two panes of glass. It looked like dreamsand but had that contrail like quality that he'd depicted earlier. There were other spirals of dreamsand too, at the center of each was a shooting star, each with a slightly different coloring but looked very much like Sandy but with only slight differences. Each of them held a staff with that same "S" shape and had a different color to each.

The next showed them all together. There were thirteen total, including the one that appeared to be Sandy and all of them were happy and smiling, twirls of dreamsand danced around them in joy, leading off to small painted planets to give good dreams to all their inhabitants. Their staffs held high to symbolize their dreamsand.

Moving to the next, the shooting stars were gathered close together with worried looks on their small faces and thick shadows gathering around them. Some of the painted planets were darkened or even broken apart into chunks of rock, any remnant of life long gone.

The next image never ceased to make Sandy shutter. On occasion, if he was staying at the pole and having a particularly rough night, he would put his easel in front to cover it up. Jack's eyes widened at the image. The stars depicted there all injured, dead, or dying with torturous expressions while being torn to shreds by fearlings, their bodies cast off into the abyss. There was blood and limbs and bone, the fearlings' dark faces twisted into gleeful grins at the carnage.

"Sandy, w-what are those things." He sighed, signing an image of a monster. Not a fearling specifically, he was not brave enough to let his dreamsand take on even a hint of a fearling's likeness. But he hoped Jack would understand. . . He seemed to.

The next was a simple one, meant to convey the message even if whoever was looking at it couldn't read the language of the stars. It was him, leaning against a lonely tombstone with twelve names on it written in Sandy's native language. He quickly moved on, not wanting to linger on the old names he would never forget. He wasn't even sure why he was telling Jack all this but he seemed genuinely interested and it felt alright . . . somehow, to tell someone about it.

The next pane was of Sandy himself, racing to escape hoards of fearling hot on his contrails, their slashing claws like daggers aimed at his throat.

The pane after that depicted when they finally caught up. A battle scene, Sandy fighting tooth and nail to escape grasping claws digging into his throat and drawing a dark orangey red blood. He couldn't help but swallow at the memory of those deadly claws tearing at his throat. He glanced at Jack, but he wasn't looking at the image. He was looking at him, with an expression close to tears.

"I, uh . . . I-Is that why you don't talk? Because you were hurt?"

He sighed, nodding, touching the injury in the window pane before bringing his hand to his own throat.

"Can't you heal?"

He shook his head, tapping the painting of the fearling with the tip of his finger lightly.

"You can't heal because it's one of those . . . monster things that did it?" He nodded, moving to the next image. He didn't want to think about that anymore.

This one of him plummeting to earth, shot down by fearlings and gravity. His contrail twisting erratically behind him as he fell.

The image after that of the explosive impact of his collision into the ocean. Jack winced slightly. He didn't linger long on this window painting. He'd been hurt pretty badly but it all seemed a bit of a blur really. He recalled the pain of it and his body catching fire due to the speed of the fall and the earth's atmosphere but not much else.

The next was a smaller painting, only taking up half of the window pane and just showed him asleep in the middle of a floating island made of dreamsand, with mermaids watching over him as a fellow traveler of the 'sea.' In the mermaid's folklore, space was just another ocean so to fall from the stars was to simply fall from one sea into another. Because of this, they counted him as a fellow sea creature and as protectors of earth's oceans they protected him as well, steering his island out of the way of tropical storms and being beached on some unknown shore.

The next image took up the second half of the pane and just depicted the mermaids and their dolphin companions swimming and playing around his island. Jack's eyes lit up at the sight. He couldn't help but smile slightly, knowing the boy loved dolphins. After the end of the fight with Pitch, in the sleigh ride back, he'd reached out to a small trail of dreamsand, silently asking for dolphins which Sandy had easily provided.

He moved on to the next, it depicted himself, fully awake, staring up at the moon holding his staff as a moonbeam shone down on him, the guardians' symbol illuminated in moonlight above him. This had been when he'd first woken up after his deep healing sleep. The man in the moon had been young at the time, barely a teenager. It was long before North and Tooth were even born and Aster had been only a small kit at the time, his parents having been slaughtered by Pitch and his fearlings not long before Sandy woke. Prince Lunar had been desperate to save the little children than loved to play in moonlight. Though they never knew of him, he'd thought of them as his friends growing up, so he'd asked Sandy's help. He wanted to bring together a group of people here on earth with the will to protect the children. But he didn't have the time. With all the nightmares and a few surviving fearlings that lead them there might not be any children left by the time he gathered his guardians. He knew of Sandy's island and of the deep healing sleep he'd been in and kept the fearlings away from his island. He also knew of Sandy being the last of his kind. Sandy agreed to help and in return the man in the moon would continue to keep any fearlings or nightmares away from Sandy's island so he would have a safe place to go back to and be able to fully heal from the crash. His dreamsand was a part of him, after all, and the sand that made up his island was still damaged and needed time. It was a deal struck for mutual benefit, one meant to last only a few hundred years or until his dreamsand was recovered enough for space travel but by the time he had fully recovered, he didn't want to leave and instead opted to stay. After that was when he met the others but he was the first of the man in the moon's guardians of childhood, though he gave dreams to everyone, not just children.

The third to last pane, near the door, was of Sandy hunting down the weakened fearlings and nightmares with the moonlight illuminating the night sky behind him.

The next pane showed North, Aster, and Tooth joined together under the guardians' symbol.

And the final pane was of all four of them together, standing proud with the moon overhead and the globe of belief behind. A little dramatic, he supposed, but he liked it.

"Wow…" Jack said at last. "That's quite a story." He turned to the winter sprite curiously, manifesting an arrow pointing at him as Jack faced him fully.

"Me?" He nodded with a smile. "There's really not much to tell and I only just got my memories back recently." He winced. "At least, the ones trapped in my tooth box, the rest I don't really know…" He looked sad for a moment and I couldn't help but feel sad for the boy. Everyone deserves to be able to remember their family and friends. Even the sad parts, he thought, thinking back to his own family. I can't even imagine forgetting them... Then Jack continued, "I was a human living in Burgess. It was just me, my mom, and my little sister Emma. I don't really remember anything about my father. I was always playing with the other kids in our village, telling them stories, and pulling pranks." He smiled wistfully. "Loved Emma more than anything though. That's why he chose me." He looked away. "I-I uh… I sort of… died." Sandy's eyes widened, a question mark and exclamation point thrown haphazardly above his head. He was quiet for a moment, as though not sure what to say.

"We were skating in the middle of december, just before Christmas, the ice should have been thick enough and we'd been skating on it all morning but… it just… wasn't. The ice cracked under her and every time she moved it cracked more so I… I made a game of it so she wouldn't be afraid. I pulled her onto the thicker ice using my shepherd's crook... but I slipped and fell onto the thinner ice." Sandy looked stricken at that. "I-It broke and I fell through." He looked down, shuffling his feet slightly. "I-I didn't drown though… I froze. Hypothermia. Trust me, it's not a way you want to go…" A few tears leaked out of pained blue eyes. "B-But o-of the two of u-us. I'm g-glad i-it wasn't h-her…" He took a deep shaky breath.

Jack is crying. Oh stars! What do I do!? He stood there awkwardly for a moment, then gathered the winter sprite in his arms, pulling him close and resting his head on his shoulder. He tensed at first, then slowly began to relax into the hug, hesitantly returning the embrace. When he finally pulled away he gave Sandy a shaky smile,

"Thanks." Sandy smiled back but then frowned, pointing to Jack then lowering and raising his hand to mimic height. Jack looked confused for a moment before realizing.

"Oh. I was eighteen." That's so young… Too young. He showed a shaking figure with his dreamsand, then a knife.

"Did it hurt?" Jack guessed. He nodded. The boy just shrugged. "It did. A lot. But I hardly remember. At that point everything just sort of... blurred together. Every once in a while my heart aches a little bit, not often and not for very long. Once or twice a year, if that. My body is frozen so my heart doesn't beat but I don't even notice that part though I know when it stopped it hurt terribly I just don't remember it very well." He nodded in understanding. Pain always seemed to hurt less when it was remembered pain rather than present pain. He winced, rubbing his throat absently. Well, it hurt less if it didn't scar…

"What about you?" He asked suddenly. "With your neck?" He faltered for a moment. Dropping to stand on the floor rather than float. He hadn't been expecting him to ask that. When Sandy didn't answer, he pulled his staff closer to his chest, looking away. "S-sorry. You uh… you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He shook his head. It's alright. He'd never told the other guardians about it, not that they'd listen long enough to even hear his story but he felt safe telling Jack that much. After all, Jack had answered his question. He reached up, hesitantly pulling away the scarf tucked around his neck and beneath beneath his robes. Jack gasped, eyes widening in shock. It was a grisly sight he knew. The open wound had healed but in it's wake it left scar tissue and long strips of grey discolored flesh where the claws had cut him. It was indented slightly where the fearling had taken out a large chunk of his throat, destroying his voice box as it did so.

"Oh, Sandy…" He breathed, dropping to his knees in front of him to be the same height, blue eyes meeting golden ones and Sandy's breath caught in his throat at the gesture. It wasn't often that someone physically lowered themself to his level. This is the second time though. The first was when he had tried to explain why he was chosen as a guardian. "Does- Does that hurt?" He hesitated, then nodded sadly. It did. All the time. Usually when it's the most inconvenient. Jack reached out, pulling him close. He returned the embrace, burying his face in his shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?" He whispered, pulling back slightly. He shook his head and Jack wrapped him up in the warmest hug he'd ever received.

It was nice. He smiled, leaning his head on Jack's shoulder.


End file.
